Who Plays Whom

Whenever Changqing Education's Xie Xingchen comes up, every student can call him "Study God Dad" with complete sincerity.

Student A: "Except when he's using the bathroom, Dad Xie never puts down his textbooks and workbooks."

Student B: "You mean eating? He keeps doing problems with his electronic dictionary."

Student C: "Walking? He listens to recorded lectures with his headphones on."

Student D: "I heard Dad Xie can even recite answers in his sleep. He's incredible!"

As for Gu Xihe, rumored to have been "banished" to Changqing, everyone steers clear of him.

He bullies cats and dogs and commits every kind of mischief. His scores in all his subjects combined don't even reach a hundred.

In short, he's a lousy student and a school bully, a complete delinquent.

Even at Changqing Education, famous for its strict, militarized management, he's a sight unlike any other.

After a major exam, the homeroom teacher asked top student Xie to help struggling student Gu.

Xie Xingchen had planned to refuse.

But the teacher offered him a condition he couldn't turn down.

The one-on-one tutoring plan officially began.

Math tutoring:

Xie Xingchen (quietly glancing at the answer key): Therefore, X = 3.

Gu Xihe: ??? Therefore what?

English tutoring:

Xie Xingchen (glancing at the answer key again): A, B, and D are wrong, so the answer is C.

Gu Xihe: ??? Are you messing with me on purpose?

Then, one dark and windy night, the two ran into each other at an internet cafe.

Wearing a baseball cap, a face mask, and an oversized hoodie, Xie Xingchen was engrossed in a popular esports game, playing with all his heart.

Gu Xihe: "Top student? Hah."

Meanwhile, Gu Xihe, rumored to skip class every day to play games at internet cafes, had only a Minesweeper screen open from the moment he turned on the computer until he left.

Xie Xingchen: "Gaming expert? Hah."

Later, Xie Xingchen discovered that the school bully was the real top student.

So the one-on-one tutoring plan was totally unnecessary.

Not long afterward, students at Changqing Education saw the school bully pinning top student Xie against a wall and forcing him to call him "Dad."

Xie Xingchen: "Actually, I don't think you need my help."

Gu Xihe: "Oh? Last night, 9 p.m., XX Road, XX Internet Cafe."

Xie Xingchen: "Dad! I'll do it! I'm amazing!"

A seemingly aloof, secretly warm, fake-cool, secretly timid pretend top student, the receiver, X

An outwardly warm, inwardly cold, sharp-tongued, foul-mouthed pretend lousy student, the pursuer

Gu Xihe X Xie Xingchen

Reading guide:

* The pursuer has synesthesia, and there will be scenes where the receiver acts like a lovesick stalker.

* The next novel is queued up after this one.

Theme: The two save each other, help each other achieve their dreams, and see the dawn break bright.